1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an attachment for use with a crop harvester and, more specifically, relates to an attachment whereby a fluid, such as pressurized air, is used to temporarily suspend or move a falling crop, such as detached cotton bolls, proximate an above-ground harvesting member to thereby improve the yield of the harvesting operation, and also to cause movement of the crop while within reach of the harvesting member, also to increase the harvest.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional harvesters used to harvest crops, such as cotton, typically achieve less than ideal yields for a variety of reasons. Decreased yields may be caused, for example, by the physical characteristics of the crop to be harvested and are particularly acute in the case of relatively fragile crops, such as cotton. Typically, many cotton bolls awaiting harvesting have already been open for several weeks, during which time the stems have deteriorated to a point that bolls are frequently caused to fall to the ground by the stalk vibration and air currents generated by an approaching harvester. The operators of cotton harvesters often see such bolls fall to the ground immediately before the harvesting members reach the plant. In addition, bolls near the bottom of the cotton plants are frequently dropped if the bolls are not directly contacted by the spindles of the harvester, or if the spindles are worn or not sharp enough to aggressively grasp the cotton. Dislodged cotton bolls that fall to the ground without being harvested are typically lost. Also, some bolls may be left on the stalks after the harvester passes. This is a severe problem, especially with small stalks of cotton that do not crowd the harvester enough to cause aggressive picking by the spindles.
Various attachment apparatus which attempt to improve the yield of conventional harvesting machines have been developed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,332,220 to Lofgreen, 4,027,464 to Stone and 5,036,649 to Thedford, et al. are each specifically directed to attachments for use with a cotton harvester.
Lofgreen provides an apparatus which uses a vacuum to attempt to recover loose cotton that has fallen to the ground. The effectiveness of the Lofgreen apparatus, however, is dubious, in large part because the quality of cotton bolls which fall to the ground prior to being harvested quickly deteriorates.
Stone attempts to recover cotton missed during the harvesting operation (that is, left on the plant) by providing a pair of opposing intake manifolds positioned behind the harvester. Each of the intake manifolds uses a vacuum to suck the cotton remaining on the plant through ducts back to the harvester for treatment in a conventional manner. Thedford, et al. discloses a particular duct structure for conveying cotton once it is received by the harvester. An air directing apparatus creates a vacuum for facilitating the passage of cotton through the ducts to a basket or receptacle 20. Both Stone and Thedford, et al., however, require complicated duct structures to recover plant-borne cotton bolls initially missed by the harvester, adding complexity and expense to an already costly apparatus. Further, the use of vacuum apparatus to improve the yield of a harvester, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness, can require that a tray or the like be provided to catch the crop before it hits the ground, thus adding additional complexity.
Other prior art attempts to improve crop yield have explored the use of various blower configurations mounted forward of a harvesting unit, which direct air rearwardly and/or downwardly toward the harvester. In addition to requiring complicated and expensive mounting and duct assemblies, because such systems blow the crop to be harvested in a rearward and/or downward direction, it is believed that the systems do not consistently prevent the crop from reaching the ground prior to being harvested. Moreover, if the blower assemblies of such systems become misaligned, the systems may actually serve to blow the crop into the ground ahead of the harvesting unit, thus causing an increase in crop loss.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for use with a harvesting apparatus, which will suspend a crop such as cotton prior to and during harvesting, and which also causes movement of the crops, helping to bring more fruit (e.g., cotton bolls) in proximity to spindles or other harvesting members. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an attachment which is simple in design and relatively inexpensive to construct.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a crop harvesting apparatus which incorporates such an attachment.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a crop harvesting method whereby a falling crop is temporarily suspended in the air until the harvesting members can reach it.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements, combinations and methods particularly pointed out in the appended claims.